Deadline: 15 May 2020
The DBS Foundation is seeking applications to award grants to social enterprises and scale their impact.
Funding Information
The Foundation offers grants between SGD 50,000 and SGD 250,000 to social enterprises who have a product market fit, demonstrated traction in sales and revenue, clear social impact and are ready to scale up.
Grant For Zero Food Waste Solutions
- In 2020, the Foundation will be introducing a special category of grants for innovative businesses working towards Zero Food Waste.
- Some examples of these solutions include technology, applications, innovations, products that reduce food loss along the supply chain as well as those that manage surplus food or upcycle food waste to value added products.
- DBS Foundation will continue to award grants to SEs addressing other critical social issues.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Foundation wants to support social enterprises in scaling their businesses through improving operational capacity, innovation capabilities, extending geographical reach, and thereby increasing their social impact.
- The social enterprise seeking the grant must:
- Have a business product/solution that has been validated in the market, as evidenced by revenue generation and/or traction in client acquisition, with clear plans to scale up business; and
- Be committed to a social mission and have a clear roadmap towards scaling social impact.
- Some examples of how a DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant may be used:
- Expand to new regions/markets
- Increase production capacity
- Establish / strengthen a brand
- Improve operational efficiency
- Build or structure a team
- Enhance social impact measurement / management
- Protect intellectual property
- The Foundation funds social enterprises registered and operating in: China, Hong kong, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan
Evaluation Criteria
The Foundation evaluates grant applications on the following criteria:
- Innovation
- Extent to which the solution is different from the status quo
- Extent to which social enterprise maintains innovation and continuous improvement
- Social Impact
- Clarity of social problem, stakeholders/beneficiaries, evidence-based impact metrics
- Robustness of theory of change supported by social enterprise model
- Business viability
- Established market demand for the social enterprise’s product service offering
- Strength of customer acquisition strategy and revenue model
- Clear financial track record and realistic projections
- Scalability of business and social impact
- Feasibility of scale-up plans based on identified key growth drivers and milestones
- Operational ability to implement scale-up plans over the next 24 months
- Team Strength
- Founder’s vision and commitment to achieving scale in profits and social impact
- Management team’s experience and ability to achieve the growth targets
The Foundation does not fund:
- Specific individual fellowships/stipends and personal expenses, charities or NGOs primarily dependent on donations
- Charities or NGOs primarily dependent on donations
- Religious organisations for religious purposes, election campaigns, general fund-raising drives or event sponsorships
For more information, visit https://www.dbs.com/foundation/our-support/grant-programme